"Smoothie, you go first."

"Okay!" She nodded cheerfully.

We were only using a single cube dice. This was meant to extend the game time.

"Five! One, two, three, four, five..." She counted. It didn't take long for her expression to turn grim. 

I looked at the tile and chuckled. She had to move back four tiles, meaning she was now back to the first tile. In addition, she had to skip her turn twice. In this game, only the initial landing tile's effect was counted otherwise we would get nowhere.

"Grr... Pooh!"

"My turn!"

I rolled a four. It was a happy tile where I gained seven points. I honestly didn't think my luck was this good. Out of the first six tiles, four of them were bad ones.

"Cheater!" She cried.

"Nuh uh! My luck is just that good." I grinned cheerfully at my initial head start.

Our game continued for quite some time until someone came knocking on my door.

"Looks like we'll have to put this on hold."

"But I'm finally winning!" She complained.

Somehow, her luck reversed later on in the game after taking countless detours. At this moment, she was ahead of me. And, if that momentum kept up, she would beat me before long, hence this was a great way for me to escape a potential loss.

"Maybe it's better for you to play with friends. I'm busy, you know?"

Fingers crossed, she'll make some friends and let me off the hook! Busy me has no time for a child's game.

"Friends?"

"Yes, friends."

I shouldn't keep whoever it is waiting.

I walked to the door and opened it. To be surprise, it was that harefolk, Fuu. It made me wonder if he was Kanoko's assistant or something because there really should only be a few who knew where I lived.

"Hi, Fuu, was it? Did you need something?"

"Your Honorable, I am here to pass a message to you from Her Excellency, Kanoko."

What's with this way of talking? Can we talk normally? I don't think I've earned that title by any means.

"Eh, you can just call me Berry. I'm just a humble... Uh... Right, so what was the message?"

"She would like to see you as soon as possible."

"Eh, that's it?"

"Yes."

Smoothie snuck up next to me, "Mother, you're a troublemaker, no?"

"No! Absolutely not! I'm the most upright citizen in the world... Eh... Fuu, thanks for the message. I'll be there in a moment."

"Understood," and he quickly left.

"Smoothie, I don't think Haelley knows where we live. So, if I don't come back by nightfall, pay her a visit. She should be able to take you to your original body. I'll ask Kanoko just to be sure there are no other issues."

With that all said, I went to meet up with Kanoko. Smoothie could do whatever she wanted to do. Whether she would actually help me with the alcoholic beverages, that was completely up to her. It didn't matter either way.

When I arrived, Kanoko was still busy as ever doing paperwork. Actually, she was in a meeting with someone as I arrived and I ended up having to wait for a few minutes.

"Hey Kanoko," I waved my hand casually, "I have a request. I asked Haelley to look after my kid while I'm away. That's no problem, right?"

"Can you discuss these types of things with me first? You're giving me a headache." She remarked sharply.

"Oops, sorry. So is that an 'okay?'"

"Ideally, the winged beasts should have returned to the northern front..." She suddenly sighed like an old lady, "however, in case Vorte evolves and ascends, we need everyone we can get to defend the city. Those cunning humans might be plotting something even now which is why I proposed to send you to investigate the tunnels for remnants and traces of their movements. Any intelligence will do."

Hmm? Something isn't adding up. I mean I understand the concern with the invaders...

"Wait, shouldn't Vorte be much stronger after evolving? Why do you need more defenses?"

"It's not so simple. There is the chance that after evolution, he might leave this physical world completely. I'm telling you because you're a fellow fey being just like us, otherwise this is kept hidden from the populace."

That made sense. If their guardian deity suddenly disappeared without a trace one day, especially in the middle of a great war, morale would be greatly affected.

"Ah I see, but Vorte said he would train Haelley, right? Surely he wouldn't just leave."

"We try to err on the side of caution. Speaking of which, one of the main tunnel access will be cleared by tonight. Please begin your investigation as soon as possible."

Everyone had their worries and concerns. Though, I still hadn't received a direct answer.

"Alright, simple enough. But I can borrow Haelley for a bit, right? It's important for her evolution. You know what I mean, right?" My gaze met hers to have some sort of mutual understanding. If she declined then I would also decline on the task she just assigned to me.

"Alright, then, are you willing to be the guardian of this city?"

Huh? Who would want to be strapped to a single place? Easy life also meant I get to go wherever I want!

"No, of course not!"

"Wha-"

 "Don't get me wrong, this city is great but I like to travel. I want to try different things and see the world. I don't want to be like Vorte, sitting in a lame cave doing nothing everyday. That's the worst!"

"Young ones, I can understand," she said while nodding.

"There you have it. I'm not staying as a guardian. Nope!"

"I didn't expect you to either."

"Then why did you ask?"

"I was just curious. Given your level, I thought you were ancient. But having seen you level up in a flash, I can see you are still young."

By now, her hands had stopped going through paperwork altogether. It seemed that whenever I came to visit, I was actually keeping her from doing her work.

I replied proudly, "Yeah, I'm young and fresh from the ground. I want to travel and see the world and try different cuisines. And, I'll grow even stronger!"

"Stronger? You're already strong in my eyes." She looked at me not with envy but with concern, then she added, "Did Vorte warn you of anything?"

"Ehh... He explained quite a bit of stuff to me: the paths, demons, heroes, things like that."

"Be careful not to attract the attention of demons."

"It's already too late but I'll figure something out later when I have time."

"Then I won't pry any further. Please keep in mind, demons are generally despised in every country, including this one. No matter how powerful you are, we can't officially accept demons, meaning you'll never be able to peacefully walk down the streets if you choose that path."

By officially, she indirectly meant that I could still converse and interact with people behind the scenes. Though, not being able to walk on the streets was quite the detriment. In best case scenario, I would avoid the demon or chaos path.

I really need to resolve that contract fast.

In fact, I sort of remember the deal on the contract. It wasn't explicitly stated but it wasn't a peace treaty either. At that time, if I didn't accept the contract, I might have been eaten and lost my soul without a chance to grow. However, now that I was fairly strong, there was a slimmer of chance for me to avoid a confrontation. Yet, should I make a bad move even if I was to hide, that rabbit demon could try to destroy all my plant bodies in an attempt to take my soul once I was no longer able to directly provide the tribute of five strawberries daily.

The contract was indeed unfavorable to me. Luckily, Smoothie hadn't been caught up in it just yet. The problem was that there really wasn't any good places to hide with the exception of the subspace. Moreover, even if I was to hide in the subspace, there was no guarantee that it couldn't be breached by a legendary demon.

"I'll do my best to resolve it as soon as I can. Vorte did give me some advise. Eh...  The problem is there's nowhere to hide from demons and I've never nullified a contract before."

"I don't think I can help you with it. After all, demons are mysterious and I rather not get myself involved with them."

Oh right, I should mention it. That other fox lady with similar name and same species as her. I wonder if they're related.